Turntable-support for cameras



E. W. DAVIS,

TURNTABLE SUPPORT FOR CAMERAS. APPLICATION FILED MAY 24, 1919. 1,378,999. Patented May 2451921.

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20 llll! M g I E. W. DAVIS.

TURNTABLE SUPPORT FOR CAMERAS. APPLICATION FILED lam/24,1919.

1,378,999. Patented 1\Iaw y24,1921.

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g wwwwwwili i M 4 l|IlIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKIIIIIIIIIIIII 4 UNITED STATE S "P ERNEST W. DAVIS, OF CHICAGO,

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION DELAWARE.

TURNTABLE-SUPPORT FOR CAMERAS.

Application -fi1ed May- 24, 1919'. Serial at. 299,529;

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VERNEST lV.-Dav1s,' a

citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county oiCook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Turntable supports for Cameras; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact de scription of the invention,,such aswill enable others skilled in the mm which it appertains to make and use the same.

This inventionrelates to improvementsiri rotatable tripod heads for photographic cameras and particularly .motion picturecameras for rotating the same to follow a moving ob ect or ob ects desired to be photo graphed or formaking panoramic views.

- It is intendedand adapted to be mounted 1 upon a tripod ofi the character generally 20.

used in connection with motion picture mach1nes or upon'any other suitable support;

- ing elemen i 4 The present invention has for its object to provide what may be termed a turn table for cameras, capable of being mechanically operated simultaneously withthe camera mechanism to effectrotation of the camera body while photographing objects wherein all lost motion and vibration are prevented and the movements ofwhich may be placed under such resistance or restraint as may be deemed necessary and, desirable by the operator to enable :him to most efliciently operate the-same,

The invention consists in the features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and particularly claimed. V i

In the accompanying drawings illustrat ing a suitable embodimentof the invention:

Figure 1 is a fragmentaryview in side elevation of a tripod equipped with a turn table constructed in accordance with my invention. 1 w I Fig.2 is a bottom plan view of 'a camera turn table mechanism. 7

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the turn table on the line 3-3 of Fig. 4. t f 1 Fig. 4 is a central vertical section onthe line ,4- 1 of Fig. 3. w I I j The said turn table. comprises a cylindrical housing'l which is closed at'itstop the top surface of the head 2. The said TENT OFFICE.

ILLINOISZ ASSIGNOR TO BURKE & JA ES, me, or

housing 1' is composed of two parts reinovably coupled, thelower part thereof consisting ofa ring provided with an internal annular flange a between which and the flange 3 andan arcuate' fiange 5 which ter.-; inmates n or constitutes a continuation of the oil-set flange 3 a worm-wheel 61s rotatable.

Extending centrally downwardly from the head Pr s an nternally threaded'stem 7 upon which there is mounted a sleeve S'prsenting av co nical support for the work wheel 6..

Said sleeve 8 is provided with atransverse slot Q'spanned by a threaded element 10 by means of which said slot may be extended to cause the sleeve 8 to become rigidly vengaged with the external threads Ofthe stem 7.; y The latterfis provided with a centrally threaded bore 11 by means of whichit is suitably engaged with-the center pin of a tripod or other support in a' well known manner. i Inthe flange Y slot- 12 through which the projection 13 of a rod let extends, said projection 13 being secured tothe top plate of a reciproeable carriage or worm-box 15 by means of a screw 16. The body portion of the rod l lis'bent midway between its ends toextend around the ,st-em Z and at its other end passes through an opening in an: L-s'haped plate 17 secured to the top plate or head 2 of the casingl. Said rod extends diametrically of the 3 there is provided a radial latter and-.is provided at the end opposite the projection 18 with removable nuts or col lars 18 between which and the plate 17. a compression spring 19'is interposed; The carriage or worm-box 15 consists of a substantiall rectan ular box orcasin enter .l b b ing a radial recess 1 in oneside of the casing 1'. Thesi de walls. ofsaid recess are provided with suitable guide formations l en'- gaging coacting formations 1 on the carriage 15 for permitting the latterto move radially with respect to the casing 1, said guide formations being eXtendedinto-the top plate or head 2' of said casing. They are ofor'dinarylorm and include means for taking up wear as is usual and are therefore not particularly illustrated constituting -no part of the present invention. Mounted in bearings in the-side walls of the carriage or worm-box 15 is a shaft 20 integ-ral with a worm, 21 Whichis adapted to mesh. with the worm-wheel 6 when the said carriage 15 is disposed at the inner limit of its movement at which it is normally held by the spring 19 in an obvious manner.

Contiguous to opposite ends of the shaft 20 and integral therewith are two annular flanges 21 having opposed conical surfaces which are adapted to fit the tapered open-.

ings in adjustable bearings 21 threaded into the side walls of the worm-box 15 and by means of said bearings longitudinal movement of the shaft 20 is taken up, it being essential that there be no lost motion in the shaft or between the worm and worm-wheel.

By forming the worm and the flanges 21 integral with the shaft 20 concentricity of the latter with said parts and consequent smoothness of operation are assured. The worm and worm-wheel are also respectively cut to snugly and accurately mesh to prevent all possibility of lost motion so that rigidity of the camera at any point in its rotation may be assured. Integral with the ring 3 or a flange 22 thereof, is a projection 23 having lever 25 in one direction, the pin will be caused to travel over the eccentric wall of the slot to move the worm-box 15 to the outer limit of its movement relatively to the casing 1 or vice versa will permit the same to be moved to the inner limit of its movement to cause the worm 21 to mesh with the worm wheel 6 under the influence of the spring 19.- The shaft 20 is provided with suitable means, such as the recesses 28 and pin 29 for engaging a crank or other means for manuallyrotating the shaft 20 to effect rotation of the casing 1 with respect to its support and with respect to the worm-wheel 6. It will be noted that the sleeve 8 has two opposed flat sides 8 and 8 and is adapted to havea wrench fitted thereto for adjusting it on the stem 7. The worm wheel is provided on each of its spokes with a boss G each having a threaded opening 30 which is adapted to receive aset screw (not shown) on the supporting element for holding the worm wheel 6 against rotation with respect to the supporting element so that upon rotating the shaft 20, the casing 1 will be rotated while the worm wheel remains rigid.

When the worm 21 is thrown out of mesh with the worm-wheel 6, the casing 1 may be freely rotated about its axis but when the worm and worm-wheel are in mesh rotation of the casing 1 and the camera carried thereby must be effected by rotation of theshaft 20. This is manually effected by means of a removable crank-handle (not shown) which may be rotated by the operator with one hand while with the other he operates the camera mechanism. If the shaft 20 is not rotated, the camera body will be rigidly held against accidental rotation so long as the worm and worm-wheel are in mesh.

The spokes of the worm-wheel are relatively thin, flat and flexible so that by adjusting the sleeve Sthe rim of the wheel 6 will be caused to yieldingly bear against the lower edges or faces of the flanges 5 and 3 with that degree of pressure that the operator may deem desirable to resist free rotation of the housing about its axis to the end that the camera body may be quite firmly held in any position to which it is turned when the worm and worm-wheel are out of mesh, a free relative movement being disadvantageous. Thus these spokes act as springs to support a uniform frictional contact between the rim of the worm wheel and the arcuate flange'5.

While I have shown the preferred em bodiment of the invention in the accompanying drawings, it will be understood, of course, that the same may be varied in details of construction to adapt it to the particular needs of the user without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a rotatable tripod head, a casing having a central stem, a worm-wheel housed therein having flexible spokes, an internal surface on the casing adapted to bear on the rim of the worm-wheel, and an adjustable element on said stem carrying said worm-wheel and adapted to force the same against the said surface of the casing against the spring of said spokes.

2. In a rotatable tripod head, a casing having a central stem, a worm-wheel housed by the casing and rotatable about said stem, an internal surface in said casing adapted to bear upon a surface of said worm-wheel for resisting free relative rotation of said parts and means for adjusting the position of the worm-wheel relatively to the casing for causing the contacting surfaces to be yieldably held in engagement with each other.

3. In a rotatable tripod head, a casing having a central threaded stem, a worm wheel housed by the casing and rotatable about said stem, an internal surface'in said casing adapted to bear upon a surface of said worm-wheel for resisting free relative rotation of said parts, and means having threaded engagement with said stem and rotatably engaged with said worm-wheel for adjusting the position of the latter relatively to the casing to cause the-contacting surfaces of the latterand the former to bear upon each other with a predetermined degree of pressure, there being flexible means associated with the worm-wheel, casing and tripod, a casing for the same rotatable rela-V V tively thereto, a worm-box reciprocable radially of the casing,' adjustable cone-bearings in the side walls of said worm-box, a shaft having integral opposed tapered collars engaged by said cone-bearings to hold the shaft against longitudinal movement relatively to theworm-box, a worm integral with said shaft between said collars adapted to be thrown into and out of mesh with said worm-wheel as said worm-box is reciprocated, and a spring associated with the worm-box and easing l'or holding the former at the inner limit of its movement to keep said worm in mesh with the worm-wheel.

ERNEST w. DAVIS. 

